Flights from the UK to South Africa, Namibia and Botswana

Two London airports have nonstop flights to South Africa and that is the whole list: Heathrow with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic to Johannesburg and Cape Town, Gatwick with Norse Atlantic to Cape Town. Nothing flies nonstop from Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh or Glasgow, and nothing flies nonstop from the UK to Namibia, Botswana or Zimbabwe. The consolation is that the London flights go overnight and the time difference is one or two hours, so you land at breakfast feeling roughly human.

Which UK airports fly nonstop to South Africa?

Winter schedules from 25 October 2026, checked on FlightMapper the day after. Times are local.

Airline	Route	Flights a week	Leaves London	Lands	Flight time
British Airways	Heathrow to Johannesburg	14 (two a day)	18:30 and 21:15	07:35 and 10:25 next day	11 h 05 min to 11 h 10 min
British Airways	Heathrow to Cape Town	17 (two a day, three on Wed, Fri, Sun)	18:25, 20:40, 22:20	08:05 to 12:10 next day	11 h 40 min to 11 h 50 min
Virgin Atlantic	Heathrow to Johannesburg	daily, 10 a week planned	19:40	08:40 next day	11 h 00 min
Virgin Atlantic	Heathrow to Cape Town	daily, seasonal, 11 a week planned	22:30	12:05 next day	11 h 35 min
Norse Atlantic UK	Gatwick to Cape Town	5	07:45 to 09:40 (Wed, Thu, Fri), 17:30 (Sun), 20:45 (Mon)	same evening, or next morning	11 h 30 min

Virgin said in May 2026 it would run ten Johannesburg flights a week from October to March and eleven to Cape Town between 15 October and 20 April. FlightMapper only lists the daily VS449 and VS478, so for the extra three and four a week check Virgin’s own timetable. Its Cape Town flight stops for the southern winter, so from late April to mid October it’s BA or Norse only to the Cape.

Norse is the odd one out. It’s a low-fare airline, so check what the fare includes, and three of its five weekly departures leave Gatwick in the morning and land in Cape Town between 21:15 and 23:10, so the first day goes on a taxi and a hotel. Sunday and Monday go overnight. KAYAK found a return on Norse for December at about £540 when I checked, against a December average of about £1,190 from Heathrow, so the trade-off is real money.

Flying from Manchester, Birmingham, Scotland or Belfast

You change somewhere, and the question is where.

The Gulf. Emirates flies to Dubai from eight UK airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle) and on to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Qatar Airways does the same through Doha from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh, and Etihad flies Manchester to Abu Dhabi. You fly south-east to the Gulf and then south-west to Africa, 17 to 20 hours against 11 nonstop, but from Glasgow or Newcastle that is often quicker than the train to Heathrow plus the nonstop. Don’t expect the ticket itself to be cheaper: KAYAK’s 12 month averages are about £700 from Glasgow and £950 from Newcastle against about £680 from Heathrow. The saving is the train fare and a night in London.

Addis Ababa. Ethiopian flies Heathrow to Addis nonstop every night (20:15, 7 h 45 min) and from Manchester daily with a stop on the way (18:25 or 18:30, 9 h 35 min). From Addis it reaches Johannesburg, Cape Town, Windhoek and Victoria Falls, the one-ticket answer from the north of England to Namibia or the Falls. KAYAK showed Gatwick to Windhoek via Addis at about £730 return for a week in February 2027. One catch: Ethiopia is on South Africa’s yellow fever list, and more than 12 hours in transit at Addis means you need the certificate; my South Africa entry requirements guide has the rule.

Nairobi. Kenya Airways flies Heathrow to Nairobi daily (17:25, 8 h 35 min) and on to Cape Town and Victoria Falls, with the same yellow fever caution.

Europe. KLM, Air France and Lufthansa connect most regional airports through Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Munich. The cheapest UK fares KAYAK had found in the five days before I checked in October 2026 were about £510 return to Johannesburg from Newcastle, on KLM via Amsterdam for late November, and the same from Birmingham. Frankfurt also has Discover Airlines’ overnight nonstop to Windhoek (22:00, 10 h 15 min), skipping Johannesburg altogether.

How do you get on to Windhoek, Maun, Kasane and Victoria Falls?

Usually with a Johannesburg change. The London flights land between 07:35 and 10:25 and Airlink’s safari departures leave late morning. Winter schedule and KAYAK’s typical return fares, checked October 2026 and rounded to the nearest £10:

From Johannesburg to	Airlink leaves	Flight time	Typical return	Cheapest month	Dearest month
Windhoek (Namibia)	06:30 (Mon to Sat), 10:40, 15:30 and 17:35	2 h 10 min	about £170 to £250	February, about £160	July, about £260
Maun (Botswana)	12:05	1 h 40 min	about £340 to £420	February, about £340	October, about £470
Kasane (Botswana)	11:50 daily	1 h 50 min	about £310 to £430	February, about £360	September, about £470
Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe)	10:00 and 11:35	1 h 45 min	about £160 to £230	January, about £150	August, about £220

Maun and Kasane cost twice what Windhoek and Victoria Falls do for a shorter flight. Thin competition does that. Airlink has one Kasane flight a day, so if the BA 10:25 arrival runs late you sleep in Johannesburg; the 07:35 off BA55 or the 08:40 off Virgin gives you a safer two hours plus. On one ticket you’re protected if the first leg is late; on two bookings you’re not, and you collect your bags and check in again.

Windhoek is the easiest: with four Airlink flights a day, any morning London arrival connects. From the UK as a whole KAYAK puts the average return at about £870, cheapest in May at about £740 and dearest in December at about £1,030, and Manchester averages about £780, below the UK figure.

Maun is where the light aircraft to the Okavango Delta camps leave from; your lodge will tell you which Airlink flight to be on. October, when the camps are full, is dearest.

Kasane or Victoria Falls for Chobe? Victoria Falls has far more flights and cheaper fares, then a road transfer through the Kazungula border. That means a Zimbabwe entry and a Botswana entry on the same day, which the KAZA visa makes cheaper; my Botswana entry requirements guide covers it.

What do flights from the UK to South Africa cost by month?

KAYAK’s UK figures are 12-month averages across every airline and routing, checked October 2026 and rounded to the nearest £10. Not quotes, but they show the shape of the year better than any sale email.

Month	What’s happening	Johannesburg return	Cape Town return
January	Cape summer, the Christmas crowds still in Cape Town, wet in the bush	not listed	not listed
February	Hot and quiet inland, Cape Town still in season	about £600, the cheapest month	not listed
March	Shoulder	not listed	not listed
April	Easter, dry season starting in Kruger and Chobe	not listed	not listed
May	Cool and green in the Cape, bush drying out	not listed	about £640, the cheapest month
June	Heathrow’s low season for both cities	low season	about £770 from Heathrow, its cheapest
July	English school holidays meet the safari peak	about £890 (£940 from Heathrow)	about £1,000 (£980 from Heathrow)
August	Still the safari peak	not listed	not listed
September	Cape spring flowers, best game viewing	not listed	not listed
October	Hot before the rains, London’s low season for Johannesburg	low season	not listed
November	Rains start, Cape warming up	about £570 to £760 from Heathrow	not listed
December	Christmas and Cape summer, dearest for both	about £900 (£920 from Heathrow)	about £1,090 (£1,190 from Heathrow)

Direct is not a premium: KAYAK’s average for Heathrow to Johannesburg is about £680 and it says the nonstops are generally the cheapest option on that route. February to Johannesburg is about £300 a head less than July or December. And the Cape has its own calendar, cheapest in May and June when the safari parks are at their best; the best time to visit Kruger guide explains what each season looks like on the ground.

KAYAK’s booking windows: 8 weeks ahead for Johannesburg (about 6% saving), 4 for Cape Town (8%), 19 for Windhoek (18%). Only the Windhoek one is worth planning around; elsewhere the month matters far more.

A worked example: two people, two weeks, Kruger and Victoria Falls

Late July, in the English school holidays, from Heathrow: about £940 each to Johannesburg at July’s Heathrow average, then about £220 return to Victoria Falls (August, the dearest month, is about the same). Roughly £1,160 a head, £2,320 for the pair, before park fees, lodges or the Kazungula transfer. Our park fee calculator adds the gate fees in pounds.

Move the same trip to February: about £600 to Johannesburg plus about £150 to the Falls (KAYAK’s January figure, its cheapest), roughly £750 a head, £1,500 for two. That’s about £800 saved for the pair, with the Falls in full flow after the rains, but you give up dry-season game viewing and take on the heat and the malaria season. The malaria on safari guide covers that choice.

Time difference between the UK and southern Africa

South Africa, Namibia and Botswana stay on UTC+2 all year. The UK moves its clocks, so the gap is two hours in winter and one in British Summer Time. GOV.UK’s dates: the clocks went back on 25 October 2026, go forward on 28 March 2027 and back on 31 October 2027.

Ring home at 10:00 Cape Town time in November and it’s 08:00 in London; in July, 09:00. Jet lag is barely a thing. The overnight flight is the problem, so sleep on the plane, stay up until a normal bedtime, and don’t book a 05:00 game drive for the morning you land.

ATOL, ABTA and whether to book the flight yourself

The protection depends entirely on how you book.

A package is protected. If a UK travel company puts together at least two parts of your trip (flights and lodges, flights and a hire car), that’s a package under the Package Travel Regulations, and with a flight in it the company must hold an ATOL, the Civil Aviation Authority’s licence. You get an ATOL Certificate as soon as you pay anything, even a deposit. If the company goes bust before you travel you get your money back; if it fails while you’re away, the scheme helps you stay in your accomodation, refunds what you spend replacing covered parts and flies you home. ABTA adds that if the trip is significantly altered by the situation at your destination you get a refund or a replacement, and if your flight is cancelled the company must re-arrange it or refund the lot. For a safari with Airlink hops, a lodge, a Delta air transfer and a hire car, one contract and one phone number is worth a lot.

A flight you book yourself is not. The CAA is blunt: buy a ticket from the airline, or anywhere that gives you a valid e-ticket, and ATOL does not cover that flight. If the airline fails, ATOL does nothing. Some flight-only sales through ATOL holders are protected and come with a certificate; many are not, and the seller must say which before you book.

So pay on a credit card. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act makes the card company jointly liable with the supplier for anything with a cash price over £100 and up to £30,000, which covers every ticket here. Pay the airline directly with the card and keep the receipt.

What none of it covers. ATOL is not travel insurance, and says so. Illness, a missed connection, a delayed Airlink flight, lost bags, a lodge that isn’t what was promised: all of that goes to the travel company, the airline or your insurer. Buy the insurance the day you book and check it covers the activities (walking safaris, mokoro trips, microlights over the Falls) and a medical limit high enough for an air evacuation from a Delta camp.

My own rule: more than two moving parts and a first visit, buy it as a package from an ATOL holder and let them hold the risk. A straight Heathrow to Cape Town return and a car, book BA or Norse yourself on a credit card and keep the saving. Either way, check the passport rules first: South Africa wants two blank pages and 30 days’ validity after you leave, and airlines do turn people away at check-in over it.